In Melbourne, a Thriving (and Mostly Free) Art Scene

“Street art is different from graffiti,” one of my followers chided me on the Frugal Traveler Twitter account. Couldn’t something be both? Graffiti has traditionally meant a quick, illicit scrawl, while street art usually implies a more formal image of some kind. I had posted a photo of a brick wall on Greeves Street in the Fitzroy neighborhood of Melbourne that had been covered in a painted portrait of a dog staring manically into the street as looming purple and blue clouds gathered underneath. During my walks around Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond (where I had rented a cheap studio through Airbnb), it seemed as if nearly every square inch of available wall, fence or billboard had been claimed by paint or permanent marker.

On my long walks traversing the streets and alleys of Melbourne, it felt as if I was perusing gritty, informal art galleries. Some works were abstract, some skillfully done tributes to favorite cartoon characters, bands or movies. Better still, this seemingly endless stockpile of urban art was free and open to the public — ideal for my frugal budget. While experiencing that alongside the city’s excellent brick-and-mortar galleries, notable night life and A-plus food culture, I came to understand how Melbourne has gained a reputation as Australia’s cultural capital.

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Work by the artist known as TWOONE/Hiroyasu Tsuri, in the Collingwood neighborhood.CreditJade Byrnes for The New York Times

The sheer quantity of street art and graffiti on Melbourne’s thoroughfares was something I’d never seen, and it left me curious about the broader art scene. So I went from pondering the fierce dog mural on Greeves Street into the nearby Sutton Gallery, a cozy but excellent space that changes its exhibitions monthly. I took the opportunity to ask a gallery employee about the neighborhood. Was the practice of graffiti legal — or at least unofficially sanctioned — in Melbourne? It wasn’t, she said, then added that the police weren’t always strict about enforcing the law.

While many street artists operate illicitly, some Melbourne property owners have embraced street art and commissioned works. With larger, more detailed murals, there’s a good chance they were done with permission. After browsing the enjoyable Center for Contemporary Photography, or CCP, I asked a volunteer named Sarah for her thoughts. “It’s definitely a subculture that’s big here in the inner suburbs,” she said, mentioning that names like Nost and Pork — two prominent graffiti artists — were known throughout the city. (It’s worth noting that not everyone believes “artist” is the proper terminology, however; some prefer terms like “pest” and cite the high cost of cleaning vandalized buildings.)

From the CCP I meandered slowly through the streets of Fitzroy and Collingwood, past a tribute to the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest; a large painting of Harambe, the gorilla that was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo; and the Keith Haring mural on Johnston Street. I doubled back and found myself on the appropriately named Exhibition Street, a brief stretch of alleyway that seemed to have been taken over by taggers and spray-painters who had left behind huge hummingbirds, cartoon skeletons, Disney characters and homages to James Bond movies. I stopped into Backwoods Gallery and spoke to the curator, Sean Carroll, who works with local street artists who exhibit in his gallery, about how Melbourne had become such a hot spot. “I’m not sure, it just sort of happened,” he said with amusement.

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Guido Van Helten’s work in the Collingwood section of Melbourne.CreditJade Byrnes for The New York Times

While art was at the forefront of my mind during my stay, there were logistics to deal with, too. After arriving, I took the SkyBus from the airport into the city center. — At 19 Australian dollars (a little under $14) it was considerably cheaper than a taxi, and it had free Wi-Fi. From there, I plunked down a six-Australian-dollar deposit and bought a Myki card at one of the many 7-Eleven stores in the city so I could use the comprehensive tram and bus lines. There’s a “free zone” in Melbourne’s Central Business District that is useful in theory, but you have to watch your location carefully to avoid having to pay a fare.

My simple but functional studio in Richmond, east of downtown, was a good bargain at $72 a day and had an artsy vibe that reflected the surrounding neighborhood. The food options nearby weren’t bad, either. One morning I headed to Three Bags Full and ordered “The Onezie” (14.50 dollars), a plate with a little bit of everything: bacon, toast, chorizo, egg, avocado and more. The coffee game at Three Bags Full is strong, too, with single-origin pour-overs and four-dollar cold brews.

On another morning, I headed to New York Tomato — not a reference to New York City, just the fact that the business is on the corner of New and York Streets — a casual cafe with a good patio and friendly vibe. I ordered a “worker’s bun” for 12.90 dollars: a fluffy brioche bun with egg, bacon, spinach and tomato stacked to make a big, decadent breakfast sandwich. I have to say this about Melbourne (and everywhere else I went in Australia) — breakfast was always very good.

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Some graffiti artists, including Anthony Lister, are household names in Melbourne.CreditJade Byrnes for The New York Times

When I was at Three Bags Full, I did something I usually do during my travels: find complete strangers that appear to be local residents and ask what they enjoy about the city. I struck up a conversation with a young couple sitting on the other end of a long communal table, and put the question to them. They recommended outdoor movies, as well as the National Gallery of Victoria, known as the NGV, calling it “brilliant.” Who was I to argue?

I hopped the tram and made my way to the NGV International (another location focuses on Australian art) and spent some time viewing the extensive — and free — collection. While there were gorgeous Picassos and works of art by other household names, I was also impressed by the Asian art collection, particularly the Pauline Gandel Gallery of Japanese Art, which featured exquisite handcrafted bamboo objects and black lacquered panels. There were two exhibitions requiring tickets: one featuring the work of David Hockney, another of the Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf. While not exactly frugal (34 dollars gets you into both), there’s a trick to getting slightly more bang for your buck: Go into an exhibit right at 4:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the museum closes. You can enjoy the art (I particularly enjoyed the Hockney) and they won’t scan your ticket, leaving you free to return the next day and see more of the exhibit.

I made the mistake of not asking my new friends from Three Bags Full exactly which outdoor movies they meant: was it Moonlight Cinema, shown in the Royal Botanic Gardens, or possibly Rooftop Cinema, on Swanston Street in the heart of the city? I went with the latter, as I had walked through the gardens earlier in the day (learning about the many different species of eucalyptuses, or gum trees, and developing a slight obsession with the hoop pine, with its bark that resembles concrete) and as it was close to the Queen Victoria Market, another destination on my list. (I went to the summer night market, which is on Wednesdays only. Check out the stall selling 10-dollar gozelme, a savory Turkish flatbread-like creation stuffed with various toppings.) My ticket to “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” wasn’t cheap — 25.80 dollars — but the weather was perfect for popcorn (five dollars) and the brilliance of Gene Wilder. Be warned: the elevator wasn’t working when I attended, and it was a long way up to the roof.

But it was ultimately the art in Melbourne that stuck with me. And while most of what I enjoyed was free, I couldn’t resist heading out to a big-top-like tent in a parking lot near Federation Square to see an exhibition of works by Banksy, the well-known English graffiti artist. The space, with dozens of original works curated (without Banksy’s endorsement, apparently) by his ex-manager, was nearly empty when I arrived — no doubt a result of the 30-dollar admission cost. While some of Banksy’s pointed critiques of capitalism were still spot-on, the whole affair felt like an unironic cash grab, with 40-dollar gift shop T-shirts as the coup de grâce. I headed back to Fitzroy, where the price of art wasn’t quite so dear — and, frankly, it was just as good.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section TR, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Walking About in Melbourne’s Art Scene. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe